Mac Miller: Gone Far Too Soon
• The music industry is mourning another senseless and tragically premature death — rapper Mac Miller was found dead last Friday in his home in Studio City, CA, the victim of an apparent overdose. He was only 26 years old.
According to Variety, the Pittsburgh-born Miller, whose real name is Malcolm James McCormick, had been candid about his past chemical struggles, referencing drug abuse and death in his music, particularly in the largely autobiographical 2014 mixtape, Faces. “I used to rap super openly about really dark s**t,” Miller told Vulture in a profile that published last Thursday. “That’s what I was experiencing at the time. That’s fine, that’s good, that’s life. It should be all the emotions.” As NBC News reports, in May of this year, Miller experienced a high-profile breakup with former girlfriend Ariana Grande and was arrested at home after driving into a utility pole, leaving his vehicle at the scene and then testing over the alcohol limit. The L.A. County District Attorney’s office charged him last month with DUI and hit and run in the incident.
Miller had released his most recent Warner Bros. album, Swimming, on Aug. 3 and was preparing to embark on a U.S. tour that was set to kick off on Oct. 27 in San Francisco.
• In a statement posted to the Warner Bros. Records Twitter account, WBR Co-Chairman & COO Tom Corson wrote, “All of us at Warner Bros. Records are deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic news of Mac Miller’s untimely passing. Mac was a hugely gifted and inspiring artist, with a pioneering spirit and sense of humor that touched everyone he met. Mac’s death is a devastating loss and cuts short a life and a talent of huge potential, where the possibilities felt limitless. We join all of his fans across the globe in extending our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.”
• Our friends at Benztown have produced an audio tribute to Mac Miller, written and produced by Benztown’s Scott Mayton, with V/O by Benztown’s Oscar Vasquez.
